Ski boot

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a ski boot in which the neck of the upper is adapted to pivot or bend, in relation to the lower part of the upper about a transverse axis located approximately ankle height, and in which a supporting connection restricted the pivoting motion of the neck is provided between the lower part of the upper and the neck of the upper. In order to provide, for a ski boot of this kind, a supporting connection which is simple, and therefore inexpensive, permits simple adjustment of the pivoting range, and adapts itself unobtrusively to the line of the ski boot, the invention proposes that plates be attached to the neck and the lower part of the upper, the said plates at least partly covering each other, and being connected together by means of a pin element, the shank of the said pin element exhibiting, in the vicinity of one of the holes in the plates through which it passes, at least two stop surfaces located at different distances from the centerline of the shank of the pin, the position of the said stop surfaces being variable in relation to the relevant hole.

United States Patent 1 Stelzer SKI BOOT [75] inventor: Werner Stelzer, Tuttlingen, Germany [73] Assignee: Messrs. Dr. Justus Rieker & Co.,

Tuttlingen, Germany [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 196,957

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data UNITED STATES PATENTS Scott et a1. 36/2.5 AL Werner ..36/2.5 AL

Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Attorney-George F. Dvorak et al.

[451 May 1,1973

[5 7] ABSTRACT The invention relates to a ski boot in which the neck of the upper is adapted to pivot or bend, in relation to the lower part of the upper about a transverse axis located approximately ankle height, and in which a supporting connection restricted the pivoting motion of the neck is provided between the lower part of the upper and the neck of the upper.

In order to provide, for a ski boot of this kind, a supporting connection which is simple, and therefore inexpensive, permits simple adjustment of the pivoting range, and adapts itself unobtrusively to the line of the ski boot, the invention proposes that plates be attached to the neck and the lower part of the upper, the said plates at least partly covering each other, and being connected together by means of a pin element, the shank of the said pin element exhibiting, in the vicinity of one of the holes in the plates through which it passes, at least two stop surfaces located at different distances from the centerline of the shank of the pin, the position of the said stop surfaces being variable in relation to the relevant hole.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SKI BOOT The invention relates to a ski boot in which the neck of the upper is adapted to pivot or bend, in relation to the lower part of the upper, about a transverse axis located approximately at ankle height, and in which a supporting connection restricting the pivoting motion of the neck of the upper is provided between the neck and the lower part of the upper.

It is therefore, the aim of the invention to provide a ski boot, of the type outlined at the beginning hereof, with a supporting connection which is simple and therefore, inexpensive, which provides a simple adjustment of the range of pivoting motion, and which may be adapted unobtrusively to the lines of the ski boot. According to the invention, this aim is accomplished in that plates are fastened to the neck and to the lower part of the upper, the said plates at least partly covering each other and being connected together by means ofa pin element, the shank of the pin element exhibiting, in the region of one of the holes in the plates through which the said pin element passes, at least two stop surfaces which are at different distances from the centerline of the shank of the pin and the position of which, in relation to the relevant hole, is variable.

The use of plates as the force-transferring elements makes it possible to adapt them to the external shape of the boot upper and neck by arching them appropriately. Moreover, the arrangement of two stop surfaces at the outer periphery of the pin element at different distances from the centerline of the shank of the pin makes it possible to displace the pivoting range of the neck of the upper further forwards or further rearwards by changing the position of these two stop surfaces through 180. The edge of the hole through which the pin element passes then rests farther up or farther down on the stop surfaces.

Additional advantages and characteristics of the present invention may be gathered from the following description of preferred examples of embodiment, and from the subclaims.

In the attached drawing:

FIG. I shows a ski boot according to the invention in which the supporting connection is arranged on the heel end of the upper;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts of the supporting connection according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through a pin element for the supporting connection according to the invention;

FIG. 4a to 40 are cross sections through various designs of pin elements according to FIG. 3, along the line lV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the pin element according to FIG. 3 seen in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3.

In FIG. I, the neck 1 and the lower part 2 of the upper of a ski boot are shown in dotted lines. Neck 1 and lower part 2 are adapted to pivot or bend in relation to each other, in known fashion, perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing. An upper plate 3 is fastened to the heel end of neck 1, and a plate 4 is fastened to the heel end oflower part 2 of the upper, by means of rivets, bolts or the like. Plates 3 and 4 are adapted to the arch of neck 1 and lower part 2 in such a manner that they lie smoothly thereon. The said plates 3 and 4 partly cover each other, lower plate 4 lying nearest to the interior of the shoe in the example of embodiment illustrated. In the areas in which the said plates overlap, they are joined together by a pin element 5 in a manner which allows relative movement between plates 3 and 4 in a vertical direction. The configuration of pin element 5, and of the holes in plates 3 and 4 through which the said pin element passes, thus permitting relative movement between plates 3 and 4, is explained herein after.

In FIG. 2 it may be seen that plate 3 has a hole 6 and plate 4 has a circular hole 7, shank 8 of pin element 5, shown in cross section in this figure, passing through both of these holes. Upper edge 9 of hole 6 in plate 3 is semi-cicular, the radius of curvature being only slightly larger than that of shank 8 of the pin. The bottom edge of hole 6, on the other hand, is straight and forms a right angle with each of the parallel sides of the said hole. The dimensions of hole 6 are, moreover, such that shank 8 of pin element 5 is rotatable therein about its longitudinal axis.

According to FIG. 3, pin element 5 has a head 11, the diameter of which is larger than hole 6 in upper plate 3, the said head also having a transverse slot 12 making it possible to rotate pin element 5. Cut into shank 8 of pin element 5 are an upper transverse groove 13 and a lower transverse groove 14 running parallel with, and facing, groove 13, the width of the said grooves being somewhat more than the thickness of upper plate 3. Thus upper edge 9 or lower edge 10 of hole 6 in plate 3 may be inserted in one of the two grooves 13 and I4 and may rest on the bottom of the said groove.

The inner end of pin element 5 has a bead or shoulder 15 which prevents the said pin element from being withdrawn from, or falling out of holes 6 and 7, while still allowing the said pin element to rotate about its longitudinal axis.

As may be gathered particularly from FIG. 4a, the distance between the bottom of the groove and the longitudinal axis of the pin is not the same in both grooves 13 and 14. This means that the pivoting range of neck 1 of the upper is different, depending on whether groove 13 faces upwards or downwards since, because of the relatively accurate fit of circular edge 9 of hole 6 to the outside diameter of shank 8 of the pin, the latter rests, after very little movement, on the edges 16 of groove 13 which is facing upwards, thus preventing any further downward movement of upper plate 3. On the other hand, upward movement of plate 3 is stopped only when straight bottom edge 10 of hole 6 comes into contact with the bottom of groove 14 which is facing downwards, for example. Thus, since the pivoting range is substantially determined by the depths of grooves 13 and 14, these may be altered from the position shown in FIG. 4a merely by rotating pin element 5 through Since this rotation also brings about a slight change in the distance between are 9 and edges 16 and the corresponding edges of groove 14, not only the magnitude but also the position of the pivoting range is altered.

The concept of the invention is not restricted to the arrangement of only two grooves facing each other. FIG. 4b shows another configuration in which the provision of additional grooves 17, 18 makes a fourfold adjustment of the pivoting range possible. Here again,

however, as in the form of execution according to FIG. 40, it is also possible to prevent any relative movement between neck 1 and lower part 2 of the upper by turning pin element 5 to a position in which the cylindrical peripheral surfaces of shank 8 point upwards and downwards, so that both semi-circular edge 9 and straight edge 10 of hole 6 rest thereon. The pivoting movement of neck 1 of the upper is then restricted to the radial play between hole 6 and pin shank 8.

The form of execution according to FIG. 4c does not permit adjustment of the magnitude of the pivoting range; it merely allows continuous changing of the position of this pivoting range. To this end, the foregoing grooves 13, 14, 17, 18 are replaced by a simple eccentric 19 in the shank 8 of pin element 5, on the peripheral surface of which the edge of hole 6 can rest. The rotational position of eccentric 19 determines the position of the pivoting range. In this case it is, of course, unnecessary for hole 6 in upper plate 3 to be of the shape shown; it may be of any desired configuration. It is merely necessary to make sure that pin element 5 can rotate. Moreover, if it is desired to dispense with any adjustment of the magnitude of the pivoting range, even in the forms of execution according to the preceding figures, this may be achieved very simply by making edge 9 of hole 6 straight instead of semi-circular, the shape of hole 6 being thus largely square or retangular.

If in the case of the form of execution according to FIG. 4b in particular, multiple adjustability of the magnitude of the range of pivoting may be expected to weaken unduly the cross section of the shank of the pin in the vicinity of grooves 13, 14, 17, 18, the said grooves may be arranged in different transverse planes in shank 8 of the pin, the latter being designed in such a manner that it may also be adjusted axially.

According to FIG. 5, head 11 of pin element 5 has markings I and II for the purpose of indicating to the user the magnitude of pivoting range to which the pin is set at' any given moment. These marks relate to the position of grooves 13, 14 in the form of execution in FIG. 4a. If slot 12 runs vertically, this shows that pin element 5 is in the locking position. The form of execution according to FIG. 4b would, of course, require additional markings.

The construction and production of the supporting connection according to the invention is extraordinarily simple and is therefore inexpensive. In addition to this, it is extremely simple to fit to existing ski boots which have no such supporting connection, in which case it provides adjustment of the magnitude and/or position of the pivoting range, without impairing the external lines of the ski boot. The said supporting connection may, of course, also be arranged laterally instead of on the heel, as shown in the example of embodiment. The plates may at all times be adapted to the curvature of the neck and lower parts of the upper. All that will then be necessary will be to hinge one of the plates 3 and 4 to the neck or lower part of the upper, so that it may be pivoted in its plane.

It is advisable to make plates 3 and 4 flat in the vicinity of holes 6 and 7, in order to simplify the design of the bearing surfaces of head 1 l of pin element 5.

The invention is not restricted to the following claims. It covers everyting new and inventive in comparison with prior art that can be derived from the specification and drawings.

What we claim is:

l. A ski boot comprising an upper having a neck and a lower part, said neck being adapted to be angularly displaceable relative to said lower part about a transverse axis located at approximately ankle height; a pair of plates each respectively rigidly attached to said neck and said lower part of the upper, said plates at least partially overlapping one another in the region of the upper which is displaceable and each of said plates having a hole formed therein in alignment with one another; and a supporting pin passing through said holes for interconnecting said plates at the position where they overlap one another, said pin being provided with a shank and at least two stop surfaces located at differinglateral distances outwards of the center line of the shank and the position of each of said stop surfaces being variable relative to one of the said holes in said plates.

2. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stop surface comprises a prismatic surface located eccentrically relative to the center line of the shank.

3. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stop surface comprises a cylindrical surface located eccentrically relative to the center line of the shank.

4. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shank of said pin is cylindrical apart from said stop surfaces and said one hole is proportioned relative to the shank permitting a small degree of radial displacement thereof relative to said hole; said proportioning also permitting axial displacement and rotation of the pin for varying the position of said stop surfaces relative to said one hole.

5. A ski boot as claimed in claim 4 wherein said one hole is 'of square configuration.

6. A ski boot as claimed in claim 4 wherein saidone hole has one curved edge corresponding to the curved peripheral configuration of the shank and an opposing edge which is of linear configuration.

7. A ski boot as claimed in claim 6 wherein the distance between said linear edge and the apex of said curved edge is approximately equal to the diameter of the shank of said pin.

8. A ski boot as claimed in claim I wherein said pin is removably retained in said holes; an enlarged inner end of the pin securing it against withdrawal and an enlarged outer end being provided with means adapted to facilitate rotation of said pin and variation of the position of said stop surfaces. 

1. A ski boot comprising an upper having a neck and a lower part, said neck being adapted to be angularly displaceable relative to said lower part about a transverse axis located at approximately ankle height; a pair of plates each respectively rigidly attached to said neck and said loweR part of the upper, said plates at least partially overlapping one another in the region of the upper which is displaceable and each of said plates having a hole formed therein in alignment with one another; and a supporting pin passing through said holes for interconnecting said plates at the position where they overlap one another, said pin being provided with a shank and at least two stop surfaces located at differing lateral distances outwards of the center line of the shank and the position of each of said stop surfaces being variable relative to one of the said holes in said plates.
 2. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stop surface comprises a prismatic surface located eccentrically relative to the center line of the shank.
 3. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stop surface comprises a cylindrical surface located eccentrically relative to the center line of the shank.
 4. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shank of said pin is cylindrical apart from said stop surfaces and said one hole is proportioned relative to the shank permitting a small degree of radial displacement thereof relative to said hole; said proportioning also permitting axial displacement and rotation of the pin for varying the position of said stop surfaces relative to said one hole.
 5. A ski boot as claimed in claim 4 wherein said one hole is of square configuration.
 6. A ski boot as claimed in claim 4 wherein said one hole has one curved edge corresponding to the curved peripheral configuration of the shank and an opposing edge which is of linear configuration.
 7. A ski boot as claimed in claim 6 wherein the distance between said linear edge and the apex of said curved edge is approximately equal to the diameter of the shank of said pin.
 8. A ski boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pin is removably retained in said holes; an enlarged inner end of the pin securing it against withdrawal and an enlarged outer end being provided with means adapted to facilitate rotation of said pin and variation of the position of said stop surfaces. 